Key

Let's Talk About...Pokemon Black / White // Black 2 / White 2

Although I have much more experience with Pokemon Black 2, I'm going to put these here together solely for the fact that it just makes more sense to have both here if I'm talking about them at all. As together they do make a pretty good team as far as Pokemon games go. I don't really remember how old I was or when I got my copy of Black 2, but what I remember the most, if anything, is how much I enjoyed playing through it. And I'll tell you why:

Pokemon Black 2, to me, is one of the best stories in any of the Pokemon games. I haven't played every Pokemon game out there so perhaps that opinion is a bit of a stretch, and perhaps Pokemon Black / White have a better story, though as far as I can tell, the events from the first game lead into the second one. I just didn't play enough of it to know since I wanted to immediately go to the second game for some reason. I'm still not really sure why to be honest. However the reason why I'm saying this is because I don't remember another time (maybe perhaps with Heart Gold) when I was playing Pokemon and I was completely engrossed in the whole thing. The Pokemon were fascinating, the battles and adventuring aspects were really fun, the cities and towns you run into were incredibly well designed and gave us a look at what the future holds for Pokemon games. Everything just felt so massive and full of wonder, and I constantly found myself saying how much I was enjoying playing through it.

I know I did say that I haven't really been all that impressed with the newer Pokemon games as far as Pokemon designs and overall appeal go, and I think that started to happen right around when I finished playing Pokemon Black 2. I don't know, but I just feel like this was the last really strong entry in the series before it kind of went a different direction. To me, between Pokemon X/Y, Sword/Shield, Sun/Moon, and the rest, there just doesn't seem to be any individual character and they all just feel the same at some point. Though that's mostly based on gameplay I've watched. The amount of originality and interesting things going on was certainly massive in Pokemon Black 2, because as I said, the cities and towns were big and fun to run through, but just the overall feel of the game and how things worked just felt so smooth and nice. Battles were quick and fun and it just felt like a purely good version of what Pokemon games should strive for. It didn't need to break any boundaries, it just is good.

Key

Favorite Location From Pokemon Black 2 / White 2

I honestly enjoy the regions for all the Pokemon games I've played, but I most definitely enjoyed Pokemon Black 2 almost if not the same as much as I did with Pokemon Ruby. The cities and towns were so well designed that it would be difficult to choose a favorite, but because this one in particular was the one that really made me sit back and appreciate what I was looking at, I decided to talk about it here:

Castelia City
This city is amazing. When I started playing Pokemon Black 2 I wasn't prepared for what I was getting myself into. I was enjoying the game a lot even before getting to this point in the game, but as soon as I got to Castelia City, I understood the depth of the game a lot more. I really wanted to take it in because it was pretty cool and a little crazy to see a city like this in a Pokemon game. Just when you're walking through the city, you feel like the skyscrapers and everything are just surrounding and towering over you really making you feel like you're running through a city. And for it to be accomplished on a handheld, that's pretty amazing.



Not to forget that it also has a pretty rad theme to carry it along:

Key

Pokemon Diamond / Pearl

I don't really talk about the fourth generation of Pokemon for a few reasons, one of which being that I really just don't like the games or the Pokemon that were introduced in this generation, minus some exceptions. I can't possibly dislike all of them, but in comparison to the other games I've played, I'd definitely say that Pokemon Diamond is my least favorite one. Again, it's got some good things going for it, but not enough for me to even want to finish it.

I picked up Pokemon Diamond right around when Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 were released, and I wanted to get caught up with the generations, so I bought Pokemon Diamond, obviously not realizing that I was passing up the better game. Though how could I have known that at the time. Pokemon Diamond is also one of the very few times in my life where I returned the item. I played Pokemon Diamond about 2/3 of the way through, but then somehow found myself stuck and not knowing where to go next. It's definitely one of those games where you kind of have to figure things out for yourself. And being who I was at the time, I just simply couldn't figure out how to progress. I knew I had gotten pretty far in the game, but again, never finished it. I honestly doubt that even if I had figured it out, I probably would have still not finished it.

I do like the legendaries in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl though, but not nearly as much as I like the legendaries in other Pokemon games. I think out of the bunch here, I'm more inclined to choose Dialga, depsite picking Palkia through my playthrough. I immediately regretted it since I really truly liked the design of Dialga a lot more. Palkia just seemed too common and didn't seem very interesting. And, well, I just ended up putting it in the PC and not using it.

I would certainly love to at some point playthrough Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as I hear those games are really great remakes and fix a lot of the problems that a lot of people had with the originals. I have seen that I'm not the only one that felt like Pokemon Diamond and Pearl sort of missed a few important marks making it feel sort of like a slog to get through. People really love the Pokemon Black / White series of games and I am included in that. There really shouldn't be much of a surprise there. They're just better games.

djchameleon

I'm with you on this one. I ended up skipping over Diamond/Pearl when it was released. I only recently started playing Brilliant Diamond when it came out. I don't even think I finished it though I feel like I'm halfway through maybe.

I caught both Dialga and Palkia in Pokemon Go and I think I'd prefer having Palkia over Dialga.

__________________

Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

Key

Seems a lot of people think the same thing as far as whether they played diamond / pearl or not. I think they figured out what they were trying to do with diamond and pearl when black and white were released. I'm sure the games are great and I would love to play through brilliant diamond at some point. But if they decide to remake the black and white series, I will be beyond happy.

Key

Pokemon Gold / Silver Are Great, And Here's Why

I was going to talk about Pokemon Gold / Silver in the same way that I've talked about the other games, but I wanted to change things up a bit. So instead, I'm simply going to bring up 5 reasons why Pokemon Gold / Silver are great. I really like the second generation because it not only gave you a new region of Johto to adventure through, but on top of that, you get to adventure through Kanto again. And to have two regions to go through, well that's just a recipe for success as far as I'm concerned.

#1: Johto / Kanto
I mentioned that I like the fact that Pokemon Gold / Silver have two regions, one new one, and one that should be familiar to you if you have played the first generation. It's nothing you haven't seen before in Kanto, however given that you are much further in the game when you first get to Kanto, it can still be a challenge if you're not fully prepared. But nothing too crazy. I do like Pokemon Gold / Silver's version of Kanto, just because it feels like there's more going on, which should be the case given that this is basically an improved version of the first game.

#2: Cool Cartridges
If I'm remembering this correctly, the game boy cartridges for Pokemon Gold / Silver were sparkly and almost holographic, right? If that's the case, god damn those were good times. I personally played Pokemon Gold and I just thought the cartridge alone looked good and it was certainly inviting. I played the **** out of that game.

#3: 16 Badges
Along with the addition of having both Johto and Kanto in this game, they also made it so that once you finished your adventure in Johto and defeated the Pokemon League, you are then presented with the task of taking on the original 8 gyms from the previous generation, with a few changes thrown in here and there.

#2: Rival
I love the third generation of games and I really think they nailed everything perfectly with Ruby / Sapphire, but I really really enjoy the rival fights and the overall feeling of the rival in Gold / Silver because as the games evolved, your rival or rivals sort of became your allies or friends, and Gold / Silver basically did away with that and set you up with a rival that can actually pose a challenge to your adventure. Plus, the music is dope:



#1: It's just a gream game, really.

I don't really know how else to put it other than that. Pokemon Gold / Silver are two of the finest made game boy games ever made, probably. I thought it was extra cool that these came out at a time where I personally was not too familiar with the idea of games having sequels. So, my excitement was definitely real when I found out that Pokemon Red / Blue were going to have sequels with Pokemon Gold / Silver. But, these games aren't just sequels. They're not just an overhaul of the previous game. In fact, both games look relatively the same as far as sprite art is concerned though graphically Pokemon Gold / Silver is far superior. On top of that though, they are just great games to playthrough in their own respects. Hell, I'd even say why bother starting with the first generation of games when Pokemon Gold / Silver are basically two games in one. Remember how I mentioned that the game has two regions, Johto and Kanto. Well, Kanto is the OG region taken directly out of Pokemon Red / Blue be it a few changes. So, y'know, you can easily start with Pokemon Gold / Silver and probably get close to the same if not much more enjoyment out of it than starting with the first games. I'd also like to mention that I am currently playing through Pokemon Red on my Game Boy Advance right now given that the copy I have of Pokemon Silver won't save. I'm still having a good time, but I'm eager to see if I can get my Pokemon Silver copy fixed. We'll see.

It seems I rambled off into something else there but the point of all of this is simply to say that despite the third generation of games being my absolute favorite, I still have a humongous soft spot and love with the second generation. The legendaries Ho-Oh and Lugia and even Celebi to name a few are simply amazing, and a lot of fun to get to and catch in the games. I mean, you get to go to the top of a burnt tower to find Ho-Oh and take it on one on one. It's worth catching. It's a fun Pokemon to use for sure. They all are. Not just the legendaries though, all the new Pokemon that were introduced in this generation are awesome. I love the starters and like I said in a previous post, my main compadre was always Cyndaquil. But I definitely don't think you can go wrong with choosing any of them, because both Totodile and Chikorita are great, and turn into some serious powerhouses of their own at a certain point in your journey. You're good with whoever in this regard.

Anyway, all of this really shouldn't be too much of a surprise given how much I have always said I have enjoyed these games. I mean, Pokemon Gold / Silver are pretty unanimously loved for a lot of the same reasons and more than I put here, certainly. I also want to briefly mention that while Pokemon Gold / Silver are great in their own respects, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are amazing. I kind of relate these remakes to Fable Anniversary. Takes all the best things from the original and simply improves on them graphically and strengthens the mechanics within the games themselves making the games feel fresh though familiar given that they are remakes. I absolutely loved playing through Pokemon Heart Gold when I got my copy of it. It's just a much better version of the originals in the same way that Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green are just objectively better versions of themselves. And I think that's a pretty unanimous opinion, I think.

So yeah, gen 2 is good ****.

Key

My Favorite Legendary Pokemon

It really is hit or miss with me when it comes to legendary Pokemon. I think as the series has gone on, the legendaries have been decent to good but nothing all too crazy. The earlier generations of Pokemon are where I really think a lot of the cooler legendary Pokemon came out. That's not to say there are some redemption points to the later games, but I just know that a lot of my favorite legendary Pokemon are definitely from the earlier games. And we're going to talk about that now:

Legendary Beasts: Entei
It's a little tough to choose a favorite out of the legendary beast trio since all of them are amazing in their own right. However, Entei wins more points with me because I just really like the overall design of it over Suicune and Raikou. Both those are amazing designs in their own right, and I know Crystal focused more on Suicune, so as much as I'd think Suicune could take the spot, I'm going to go with Entei on this one.

Weather Trio: Groudon
You already know by now that generation three is my favorite, and that also comes with the fact that a lot of the legendaries if not all of them in this generation are my favorites. I like Latios and Latias, Rayquaza, Kyogre, Regi's, so I really just wanted to go with the one that I both have used the most out of any of these other ones but on top of that, I have a lot of different cool looking Groudon cards in my collection, so naturally I hold Groudon in pretty high regard. Not only can it be super strong in the late game once you give it Solarbeam and Thunderbolt, but the fact that it has an automatic sunny day just makes this combination that much stronger. Groundon all day, every day baby!

Weather Trio: Rayquaza
Yeah, I'm talking about two legendary Pokemon from the same generation. Why? Well, because I can. And I'm not purposefully excluding Kyogre or any other legendary for that matter, but I just don't have as much experience using Kyogre to really give much of an opinion. Rayquaza basically wins on design alone but otherwise a really strong Pokemon to add to your team. Especially since the building to get to him can be a chore if you mess up, but man is it worth it.

Mew
I've talked about Mew being one of my favorite Pokemon of all time a few times before, but I feel like it's just worth mentioning again since I just enjoy talking about it. Mew is a really cool Pokemon when you really dive deep into the history of its existence and how it lives its life. Mew and Mewtwo are both badass Pokemon in their own right, and the Mewtwo Strikes Back movie is one of my favorite movies of all time, still. And I watched it recently, it still holds up. Quite well, in fact. If you like Pokemon, the first movie is always a treat.

As I mentioned briefly before, my favoritism of legendaries kind of fades a little bit as the generations go on because I feel the overall design of them along with some select generations of Pokemon just sort of lacked in originality or just weren't interesting enough to really consider a favorite. Granted, I'll still mention a couple that I would definitely use on my party given the chance:

The Creation Trio: Dialga
Aura Trio: Xerneas

Legendary Pokemon are a staple in the Pokemon universe and while some designs may lack, a lot of them are really cool and somewhat rarely it's worthwhile to use them on your team.

Key

Pokemon Video Game Box Art

I've always enjoyed talking about video game box art and specifically Pokemon video game box art. There was nothing quite like seeing new games on the shelves of Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video, or any other stores that carried electronics. The box art would prove its use every time because I always looked through the locked glass doors at the box art hoping that one day I can pick up the game and play it. Well, that was most certainly true when Pokemon Gold / Silver came out, so that's the one I'm choosing to talk about today. Also the added fact that I feel like Pokemon Gold / Silver had the best box art out of any of the Pokemon games new or old. And i'll tell you why:

When Pokemon Gold first came out, I was hoping I was going to be getting it for Christmas that coming December, but I wasn't totally sold on that idea since we didn't really get those kinds of gifts growing up. However, I remember a phone call that I had with my grandma at the time because it was a few days before Christmas and my mom had handed me the phone. My grandma then asked me "is there one thing you really want for Christmas?" And I said "Yes, the new Pokemon game. It has a bird on the front and it's gold colored." That was the only description I gave at the time because I honestly didn't know how to describe it otherwise. Christmas morning comes around and I was stoked because there was a square box wrapped for me from my grandma so I knew what it was already. Upon opening it, I was not only excited, but I was in awe of what the box art looked like up close:



It is a memory that will forever stick in my brain because not only was it amazing to even get the game as a gift, but then upon playing it and subsequently playing through it, I realized just how amazing this game truly is. I talked about Pokemon Gold / Silver previously, so I don't want to go too in depth here, but I just remember starting with Cyndaquil on my first playthrough which is why he's my favorite starter of that generation.

As far as box art goes in general, it's evident that there really isn't that much attention to it anymore which is probably why some of the quality of box arts has diminished. I'm not saying any box art now is bad, but it's definitely lost its touch a little bit with everything trying to go all digital. I get it, I have an all digital console as well. But, I do try to look for box art whenever I can just to add to my own little collection. I will be most happy when I do find a copy of Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver in their box art. I have Pokemon Silver now but only the cartridge.

Anyway, yeah box art rules.

Key

My Favorite Locations From Pokemon Gold / Silver

And boy there are a lot to choose from. From the bug catching competition to where you find Sudowoodo to the Unown caves. In my opinion though, one of the best locations in Pokemon Gold / Silver would have to go to Goldenrod City:



I guess I just really love big cities in Pokemon games and Pokemon Gold / Silver did a really nice job of making Goldenrod City both feel big and have a lot to do with both the main gameplay and just other things.

I'm also going to give a special mention to Lake of Rage because even though Pokemon has evolved so much, nothing will ever beat the OG red Gyarados. Just a really cool looking Pokemon who also packs a punch.

Key

Pokemon Trading Card Game

One of the best parts of my childhood was buying Pokemon booster packs from various shops that carried trading cards. I just remember going into shops like 7/11 or other small stores within malls that had cases upon cases of cards ranging from Yu-Gi-Oh, baseball cards, and of course Pokemon cards. At the time, I was only allowed to get maybe 1-2 booster packs each time I went since money was rather scarce growing up. Nowadays however, I just buy packs whenever I feel like having that rush feeling of opening booster packs. And whether i'm 10 years old opening booster packs or if i'm 32 years old opening booster packs, the excitement feeling never fades. And as much as I think that the Pokemon games have sort of reduced in quality over the years, in some cases not all, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has definitely improved over the years, one of my favorites in recent years being Primal Groudon



I don't think my interest in the Pokemon TCG will ever fade though I will admit that I've only ever really gone as far as buying and collecting the cards. I have a nearly full binders worth full of Pokemon cards at home that I just organized so now I can just look at them all the time if I want to. I'm not super hardcore into it or anything but it's just one of those things that I will forever collect until they die out. And I honestly don't see that happening any time soon.

I do think the competitive side of the Pokemon TCG is really neat and worth looking at if you have the time, because much like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, they do have big events that take place that revolve around the trading card games and it's always really cool to see communities of people get together to do something together that everybody enjoys. Once again, I don't see myself ever really getting into it competitively, but I do definitely enjoy watching people that are into it in that regard. I'll always probably just stick to collecting them.